But many have expressed surprise at how 'depressed' the parents in Ms Schwartz's pictures look.

One viewer exclaimed: 'If you were to take a picture of my parents on my old room, you would see a man and woman with their scotch and martini glasses, surrounded by friends and having the times of their lives.

'My stuff would perfectly crammed into the closet.'

Ms
Schwartz, who is an empty nester herself with three adult children, said
through doing the project she came to appreciate the many changes
humans are forced to adapt to in the course of a lifetime.

'When we become parents our lives are forever changed.

'Then after the many years
of child-rearing - the nurturing, hard work and self-sacrifice - it quietly
comes to an end.'

Lost: Ms Schwartz says parents often know how prepare for the arrival of a new baby, but when it comes to treating the unoccupied room of an adult child they are more unsure

'There's a sort of gray area between what you do with that room when you've gone from full-time parenting to whatever it is that comes next,' she said

Learning curve: Ms Schwartz, who is an empty nester herself with three adult children, said through doing the project she came to appreciate the many changes humans are forced to adapt to in the course of a lifetime

Getting on with things: Peter poses alone in the bedroom of his child, who moved out three years ago

She said some of the parents she met were 'excited by the freedom' of seeing their children fly the nest, others were anxious about how their relationship with their spouse would change.

But the majority were wistful, and reminisced about their experiences as parents and their bonds with their kids.

'Their kids had been so central to their day-to-day activities and emotions that they felt like they'd lost their bearings and needed to chart a new course,' Ms Schwartz concluded.

Alongside her photography, she acts as an associate professor of journalism and communication at the University of Minnesota.